Featured Short

Margo Lily

A couple is determined to plant a tree in the middle of winter following the loss of their child.

The way people deal with grief in the wake of tragedy is a subject matter that has always been intriguing to filmmakers Linsey Stewart & Dane Clark. In ‘Margo Lily’ they explored the depths of the moment when a young couple decide to plant a tree in the middle of winter after the loss of their child.

Though this sort of content can be a little morose and depressing, there’s something very beautiful and raw in how we take the first steps towards moving forward. This is what we wanted to explore.

The genesis of Margo Lily came to us when we read an article about couples planting a placenta to commemorate the birth of their child. Sometimes known as a Birth Tree or Tree of Life, the placenta is given back to the earth so the child and tree grow happily together. Though this is normally a beautiful and happy occasion, we couldn’t help but think, what if it wasn’t? What if the birth had a tragic turn of events? The thought of it broke our hearts, and we knew we had to tell this story.

The death of a child will be the most excruciating moment in a parent’s life, something that often tears couples apart, but Lindsey and Dane wanted to show how this couple was able to reconnect and start to heal themselves through this moment.

Though we have never experienced this situation ourselves, we both felt deeply affected by their need and determination to carry out the very thing they said they would do. There was catharsis in what could have been a very somber event and we thought there was something very powerful about that sort of juxtaposition.

The power of a moment and it’s subtleties is what Lindsey and Dane caught with such finesse on Margo Lily. The actors Rachel Wilson and Aaron Poole both reached an incredible emotional level that helps the viewers submerge into their grounds. Just like their film Long Branch – a must see, Margo Lily plays strong on new and confusing emotions that the film’s flow seems to take a sturdy ride on.